POVLITZ Inc | Business and Entrepreneur

Finding a distribution channel for your product is critical. Entrepreneurs often take all the necessary steps—developing a great product, creating a prototype, patenting their ideas, and producing an initial batch of products — without considering the final step—how the product will be sold.

How important is this step? Consider that after Jeff Hawkins invented the PalmPilot, he had a very hard time getting his new product onto store shelves. His company finally decided to partner with (and eventually be
bought out by) U.S. Robotics because that company had a distribution channel that Palm could tap that lead to it becoming a huge success.

But you need not go to such lengths to distribute your product. Here’s a simple method you can use to get on store shelves. First, find a retailer who sells products similar to yours and ask from whom they purchase those products. Once you find out, contact that distributor, sales representative, or wholesaler and ask them what kind of deal they typically offer product manufacturers such as yourself. It is important to realize that both the distributor and the final retailer will want to mark up your product, so you have to price it accordingly from the outset. After you have spoken with one distributor, finding others should be easier. There may be dozens of wholesalers or distributors that distribute products similar to yours. Once you have spoken with a few, you will have a much clearer idea about which one may be best for you, as well as how to price your product properly to get it to market and begin generating some sales.